Episode 913 - 5 Chefs Compete Part 1
The thirteenth episode of Season 9 of Hell’s Kitchen aired on FOX on September 5, 2011. On that episode, the final five competed in their first black jacket challenge, faced off against former contestants at dinner service, and nobody was eliminated. Intro While going back to the dorms, Elise was stunned to make it to the black jacket, but felt that she was good enough for one, just as the final five discovered champagne waiting for them at the dorms. Despite not working with Elise before, Will hoped that all the shit from the red team was done, which the other men agreed with. However, Jennifer feared that Elise’s attitude would get worse now that they were in black jackets. Individual challenge When the final five came downstairs, Ramsay announced the Presentation Challenge as their first individual challenge. Each chef would be working with dishes that normally would not look appetizing, as the Sous Chefs laid out plates with the names of dishes the chefs would grab of their choosing. As the chefs raced to grab a plate, Tommy was the only one that did not run upstairs as he grabbed the chicken and dumplings dish, while Elise sprinted for the eggplant parmesan plate, pushing Paul out of the way in the process. After, Jennifer grabbed the lasagna plate, and Will grabbed the meat loaf plate, leaving Paul with the tuna casserole plate. Each chef had 50 minutes to cook their dishes, with Will wanting meat loaf as his death row food. Then, Elise accused Paul of trying to peek at her dish, leading the latter to call her a pain in the ass with nine pans out for eggplant parmesan. Eventually, everybody got their dishes cooked and plated on time. Lesley Bargar Suter, Susie Heller, Valerie Aikman-Smith, Deborah Jones, and Eric Greenspan were invited as guest judges. Each judge would judge each dish on a 1-10 scale in both presentation and taste, and the chef with the most points would win. Tommy was up first and presented his chicken and dumplings with roasted red onions in the broth , but walked his dish very slowly to the judges. While it was praised for having great colors and having the great use of the onions, it was criticized for having an undercooked dumpling, and Tommy scored 74 points in total. After, Paul’s tuna casserole was praised for having a simple presentation, and looking like a crab cake, but Jones thought it looked almost cat food like. For the taste, it was criticized for having a heavy taste of tuna, and Paul was criticized further when he revealed to use canned tuna for his dish, ending with a score of 60 in total. Then, Jennifer presented her lasagna, even though she hated that dish, and it was criticized for having a confusing presentation, and the judges finding the taste disappointing. As a result, Jennifer scored 54 in total, and felt that she was ripped apart. After, Elise was the fourth person up, and confidently presented her tower of eggplant parmesan. The dish was praised for looking eye-catching, and tasting delicious with no overwhelming cheese flavor, and Elise scored a total of 86. Will was the final person up, and presented his bacon wrapped meatloaf with fresh morel and ketchup jue. While the sauce was criticized for looking off, it was praised for tasting delicious, even Jones agreeing despite not being a meatloaf fan. After, Will scored a total of 87, and won the challenge, while feeling proud that he scored four 10’s on taste alone. Reward Will was rewarded with dining tour in Los Angeles driven in a Rolls Royce, and Ramsay allowed him to pick somebody to join him on the reward. Will picked Elise as she was the runner up in the challenge. During he reward, Will hoped that bringing Elise around would boost team morale, and met Wolfgang Puck at his Spago restaurant. Chef Lee Hefter gave the duo a beet sampler, and Will and Elise both called it their best reward yet. Later, the two dined at Eric Greenspan’s restaurant, and Will told Elise to keep the red team’s drama out of the kitchen, though the latter did not want to explain herself to anybody. Punishment After seeing Will’s decision, Paul commended the former’s honorable decision, but admitted that he would not have took Elise. The remaining chefs were punished by participating in laundry day the old fashion way, by hand, which included washing Ramsay’s jackets. During the punishment, Paul called hand washing nasty, and Tommy’s antic amused Jennifer as she never worked with the former before. Veteran team reveal At 9:05pm, Ramsay called the dorms, and asked Elise to have everybody downstairs in their black jackets. Once downstairs, Ramsay announced that while they would be cooking in one kitchen, there would be another team cooking in the red kitchen, explaining that he had invited five previous chefs that earned black jackets in their respective seasons. The five returning chefs were Ben from Season 5, with Jennifer admitting to having a crush on the former, Tennille from Season 6, with Elise wanting to be like her, Trev and Jillian from Season 8, and Van from Season 6. After, Ramsay warned the black jacket chefs that the veteran team was there to kick their asses, but while Elise was ready to shine, Tennille hoped that the former had a body bag, and Paul knew that the veterans would be their toughest competition yet. Menu creation After, Ramsay announced that each team would design their own menu for the following night’s service and gave them an hour. Despite Will respecting the veterans, he was ready to crush them, while Trev felt that it would be a good opportunity to uphold the previous chef’s reputations. The veterans immediately came up with suggestions that they all liked, and Van knew that as veterans, they had an understanding for one another. Meanwhile, Elise got snappy when the other chefs made suggestions about her lemon risotto, especially when Tommy suggested adding wasabi with their tuna tartare, and an argument erupted in the dorms. That led to Will furiously screaming that he did not want the drama anymore and accused Elise of being the reason for the red team’s problems, and after more arguing, he was willing to walk out of the competition. While the rest of the chefs were dismayed about the prospect of Will leaving, Elise rudely brushed it aside, but the former decided to stay in the competition. After time was up, the veterans left in high spirits, while the black jackets were forced to do the menu as it was, with Jennifer wanting the throw up after all of that. Before service The next day, both teams began prepping for that night service, and Ben felt that the veteran’s energy was strong as there was some unfinished business, especially as they were not at risk of going home. In the blue kitchen, Paul wanted to work together despite not being BFF’s with Elise, and if they did not have a perfect service, they were fucked. After prep was finished, Ramsay asked James to open Hell’s Kitchen. Dinner Service David Krumholtz was in attendance that night. Both kitchens received their first order, and Van was pumped to show the rookies how things were. In the blue kitchen, Will directed Tommy on cleaning the plates as he wanted a fire lit on the latter’s ass, while Elise called Tommy Will’s bitch boy. In the red kitchen, Ramsay urged Trev to take control, and while the latter felt that he was more confident, less frantic, and being heard, his actions proved otherwise before sending up a fraiche salad not on order, much to Ramsay and Jillian’s irritation. 45 minutes into dinner service, Will’s leadership caused the black jackets to move forward on appetizers and were now onto entrées. However, Elise second guessed herself on the meat temperatures, which Paul did not see as a good sign for leadership, and that it proved to him that she had no idea what she was doing. Despite that, Elise’s entrée was accepted, and in the red kitchen, Tennille sent up her tuna. However, it was ice cold, causing Tennille to recall how difficult Hell’s Kitchen was, while Jillian deemed the former’s performance on the fish bad. Then, Tennille’s refire was overcooked, with Ramsay comparing it to canned tuna. In the blue kitchen, Paul sent up an overcooked lobster tail, with Ramsay seeing how his butter was too hot, and Elise accused him of not backing up his talk. Then, an argument over timings occurred between Paul and Elise, much to Ramsay’s irritation, forcing the former to get more vocal. One hour into dinner service, the veterans were pushing out entrées, but while Van was feeling fired up again, he sent up a lamb that was undercooked. While Van felt that nothing has changed since last time, Ramsay reminded him how he could be good on meat temperatures, as the latter rebounded and sent out perfect filets. Two hours into dinner service, Ramsay pulled both teams to the front, and announced that both kitchens had only three tickets each. Both kitchens began pushing out orders, but Jennifer sent up stone cold bok choy, forcing Will to do the refire himself. Eventually, both teams got their final tickets completed, and after Ramsay confirmed that he had a strong black jackets team, he ordered them to clear down while he did some thinking. Post-mortem With both teams lined up, Ramsay deemed both teams performing well that night, but after looking at the comment cards, and basing it on if they would return, Ramsay announced the black jackets the winners for having a 96% approval rating over the veterans 83%. Ramsay thanked the veterans for coming back and cooking one more time, but Van was a little disappointed that he did not win on his second time around. After the veterans left, Ramsay told the black jackets to name two people for elimination. During deliberation, Tommy noted how it sucked to lose somebody after a strong service, but knew that it was a competition, before recalling Paul’s overcooked lobster and Jennifer’s cold bok choy. However, Will considered Jennifer and Elise for elimination, the latter based on how difficult she was during the menu creation. While Elise argued that she had a good night, Paul considered her due to asking him for the cooks on three steaks, but she argued that she only asked once. Then, Elise accused Paul of nominating her of being insecure, but he deemed her cancerous. Later, Jennifer feared that she could be going home, pulled Paul aside, and admitted to having a crush on him as she did not want to regret not saying, with Paul hugging her in response. Elimination Elise announced Jennifer as the first nominee, and herself as the second. During their pleas, Jennifer claimed that she had more to show Ramsay and that she was better than in leadership compared to Elise, but Ramsay felt that she too quiet that night. Then, Elise argued that she was trying to be vocal that night, and felt that the men were intimidated by her, but before another argument could erupt, Ramsay shut them all up. Ramsay called up Jennifer and asked for her jacket, only to give her a clean jacket, and placed her and Elise back in line. After, Ramsay said that nobody performed poorly enough to warrant an elimination and was proud of them for stepping up to the challenge he provided them. While being dismissed, Elise felt that the other chefs were mad she would not be pushed around, and was there for herself, while Paul said that Elise would not win Hell’s Kitchen if she did not take direction. Then, Jennifer was embarrassed over telling Paul her crush on him as she was safe. Ramsay's comment: "Tonight's service was the best yet in Hell's Kitchen. Just like the returning chefs received a second chance, I decided to give Elise and Jennifer a second chance as well. Hopefully, they'll make the most of it." Category:Season 9 Category:Episodes